Dark Clouds Smoulder into Red
by honest iago
Summary: This dark story consists of slices from the life of Severus Snape as a young man, and the lives of his two best friends from Hogwarts, as Voldemort beckons. Begins at the end. More to come. -
1. The End

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**Disclaimer**: I own nothing but the character Davies Brennandez. All hail JK.

**Summary**: This dark story consists of slices from the life of Severus Snape as a young man, and the lives of his two best friends from Hogwarts, as Voldemort beckons. Begins at the end. More to come.

**Note**: Links in with the events of the 'Wedding Bells Just Turn To Rust' trilogy by 'Weasleylover1'. If you have read that you may well remember the characters Davies Brennandez and Evan Rosier popping up in the memories of Narcissa Malfoy and Severus Snape. However, you do not have to have read that trilogy to 'get' this story. It's a fairly simple idea - to write about the past life of Severus Snape, using what clues we get from the books as a guideline. It just became hideously complicated along the way, about the time I decided to use 'the end' as the beginning... Hmm... Anyway, the events in this story, the characterisations, the descriptions, everything, were all devised before the fifth book came crashing into our lives, so it doesn't really tie in with the ideas presented there. Still, if you are interested in speculations on Severus Snape's youth, then you may well find this story of some interest. Oh, and I will refer to Snape as 'Sev' in this story. It's what I see his best friends haing called him at school, and, as you can see in Chapter Two, which is from Snape's point of veiw, it's also how I see him refering to himself. All I can ask is that you give this story a chance...

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**The End**

Davies looked at them, at least 15 of them. Grown men, but wearing masks   
like frightened children. The obvious leader of the pack, head cocked to one   
side in a question, wand arm outstretched, pointing, waiting.

_I'll never be one of you_, he thought.

How pathetic they were. It was so easy to see now, at the end. Why couldn't   
things always have been this clear to him?

"No. I'm afraid I must decline your kind offer, gentlemen. I'll never join you.   
I'd rather be dead." Davies wasn't afraid now. He just waited for it to happen.

A flash of green light, and it'd all be over for good…

At least Davies knew that Sev wasn't among the Death Eaters that encircled   
him. Sev was in St. Mungo's, visiting Lucius Malfoy's wife and newborn child.

_Well, someone has to take care of Lucius' family. God knows, he'll be too   
busy ridding the wizarding world of muggle-born scum._

"And soon enough, you will be dead, Mr. Brennandez. Obviously, we were   
sadly mistaken to expect your loyalty." Said the cold voice of the leading   
Death Eater.

The wand was now pointed directly between his eyes.

This was it.

But Davies still wasn't afraid. He knew he had made the right choice.

"Avarda Kedarvra" the lead Death Eater uttered the words in a distinctly bored   
tone.

Davies Brennandez's body crumpled and fell sideways. It impacted on the   
ground with a sickening thud. Then he lay there, still and cold, like all the   
others.

But there was one Death Eater present for whom Davies' death wasn't just   
'another one down'.

Evan Rosier was frozen to the spot.  
Had he really just let that happen?  
Lucius Malfoy, who was the gang leader of this particular spree, had just killed   
his best friend of old.

Evan looked down at Davies on the ground, and felt as though the very last   
lamp burning in the deep recesses of his mind had just been snuffed out. He   
felt really, truly insane. But there was no way out of this for him now. He   
was what he was. He had made his choice, many months before.

And, one way or another, Evan Rosier knew he would never be free. Not   
now. Not after everything he'd done.  
It was true that Evan had always been a cold, dead, merciless sort of person,   
but now he had no emotions, no mind, left.

This was the last straw.

Out of the corner of his eye, Evan could see the blank expression on Davies   
face.

Davies hadn't even known how much Evan had valued his friendship at   
school.  
Davies had thought that Evan only cared about Sev. Now Davies would   
never know the truth. In some deep, forgotten place, that bothered Evan a lot.

Lucius Malfoy was yelling that they should get out of there.

Evan laughed soullessly. Yes, he supposed they had to go back to they're   
wives, families, and cushy ministry jobs at some point. Well he had nothing to   
go back to.

It was at that choice moment the Aurors put in their appearance. They just   
had to get a piece of the action, didn't they? It was always that way with   
Aurors, he well knew by now. They always burst in, wands blazing, at the   
most terribly inopportune moment. Always, always when you weren't   
prepared.

Two Death Eaters went down instantly. They were dead. Barty Crouch, who   
batted for the Ministry, had just authorised the use of the unforgivables   
against dark wizards.

Then an Auror went down at Lucius' hands. Needless to say, the Auror was   
dead.

Lucius Malfoy didn't take prisoners.

A suffocating sense of claustrophobia crept steadily in on Evan. The situation   
going on around him seemed surreal, far away. Yes, he'd been here before   
all right.

A Death Eater down, an Auror down. And so on.

But this time was a bit different. This was end game for him, he could feel it.   
Evan stared numbly down at his wand hand. It wouldn't move. He couldn't   
even make himself want it to move.

There was chaos all around him.

It was a miracle that he hadn't already gone down by way of a stray curse.

No, not a miracle. It was a pity he hadn't gone down.

"I'd rather be dead" Davies had said. And Davies had had plenty of reasons   
to go on living.

Evan had nothing. He couldn't even feel guilty. He was lost in his sins.

How had it ever come to this?

Of course, he was a cruel man. And he'd always been a cruel boy. Evan   
knew that he'd never been a good person.

But seeing someone he had once cared for be wiped blank like that…  
It was rather like a splash of icy cold water across his face.

It had pushed him over the edge. Funny, he'd never actually realised how   
close to the edge he'd been until now.

Thoughts of himself, and Davies, and Sev at school kept flashing across his   
mind.

Then other, less pleasant, memories came, unbidden, to his mind.

Things he'd done.

Things for which he could never be forgiven.

Evan had done terrible things during his time as a Death Eater. And he knew   
that he had done things that went beyond his call of duty. He had wanted to   
do those things, not because he was a servant of the Dark Lord, he had just   
wanted to.

He couldn't always use the Dark Lord as his excuse.

Sev had reminded him of that recently, when they'd last argued. Evan had   
known already, of course.

Sev had become slightly repulsed by Evan, of late. Though he must always   
have known what Evan was capable of. But then, Sev was green by any   
Death Eater standards.

Always was an altruistic bastard, Evan thought wryly.

Like Davies.

Then Evan suddenly found himself facing the tip of a wand. He realised that   
he'd slipped his own wand back into his robes. It was a young Auror, a boy   
who Evan thought looked slightly familiar. They stared at each other for a few   
moments. Evan didn't reach for his own wand, though he fancied himself   
quick enough to draw it and blow the Auror away before he'd even realised   
what was happening.

But then, the Auror was forced to turn away anyhow.   
He dashed off to help a curly-haired lady Auror who was being crucioed   
mercilessly by some masked Death Eater or other.

Evan took off his own mask. It wasn't altruism. He just didn't much feel like   
being one of them anymore.

When the Auror-boy had helped his colleague, and turned back around again,   
he looked surprised to see Evan still stood there, waiting, wand still not drawn.   
Evan stared into the Aurors eyes. The boy looked terribly strained and   
confused.

Probably his first raid, thought Evan.

Lucius Malfoy, and a few other senior Death Eaters disapparated away,   
leaving some of the newer recruits to fight it out. Obviously it was a losing   
battle. There were too many Aurors. And now the Aurors were licensed to   
use any curse they wanted. Made it a bit more even.

The Auror-boy now had his wand pointed directly between Evan's eyes, which   
stared back unflinchingly. They were so close, Evan could smell soap and   
sweat and ministry buildings. The boy was wavering.

_Probably never killed anyone before._

Evan continued to gaze soullessly into the Auror-boys eyes, rather   
encouragingly, he thought.

_Oh, just do it!_

Evan was ready. Hadn't he been ready for this ever since he'd joined   
Voldemort? Hadn't this even been one of the pulls of joining the Death Eaters   
in the first place – the thrill of skirting the fine line between life and death?  
He wanted to be dead.

_Just do it, boy._

But the boy was disheartened because Evan wasn't fighting back.

_If only you knew some of the things I've done._

"Avarda Kedarvra!" Shouted an unexpected voice from behind Evan. It was   
an old, experienced, merciless Auror, who knew his job better than the boy   
did.

Evan was enveloped in a haze of green light, and his mind went completely   
blank. He was aware, for a fraction of an instant. Then he was gone.

His body fell like a stone. His head hit the ground with a sound like a coconut   
being broken open on a sharp rock.

Evan Rosier was gone. He had gotten what he had wished for for so long.   
His body fell to the ground near to where Davies lay. They both wore the   
same vacant, empty expression.

In death, the two lay side by side, and no onlooker would have been able to   
tell innocent from guilty, nor good from evil. In death, they were just two   
unfortunate boys, in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Eyes open startlingly wide, both were safe and innocent now, in their sleep.

And the old Auror glared down at the boy, who stared at the ground.

"He, he took off his mask…" the boy said, by way of an explanation. He could   
see the mask of the Death Eater who'd just been killed on the floor, a foot or   
so away. He stooped to pick it up.

"Boy, you never hesitate. I never want to hear of you hesitating again.   
Understand?" snarled the old Auror.

The boy nodded, and mumbled "Yes. Thankyou. Sir.", his head still down.

The boy hadn't expected the Death Eater to take off his mask. He'd never   
actually seen one unmasked before. And the Death Eater had been so   
young. So much like himself. The boy hadn't been prepared for that.

He didn't think he could ever kill an unarmed man. He didn't like using the   
unforgivables at all.

The boy surveyed the carnage of the fight – which they had won. Then he   
helped the old Auror to sort through the bodies on the ground.

All the while the eyes of the unmasked, nameless Death Eater seemed to be   
staring up at him.

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	2. Initiation

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**Disclaimer:** JK owns everything and I own nowt. Else the events of the fifth book would be nothing but a very bad dream (blood-curdling scream…).

**Note:** Ok, this story IS very confusing in that it **does not run in any sort of chronological order**, and it is not exactly fifth-book friendly. However, if you can still be bothered reading it, you may find it to be of some interest. It consists of slices from the life of young Severus Snape and his two best friends, Evan Rosier and Davies Brennandez (I own him – hurrah!). Chapter One was sort of, um, well, The End, at least for Snape's two best friends. I know it's weird to have the end at the beginning but, well, try to think of this fic like a Tarantino movie… This, the second chapter, deals with Sev's initiation into the Death Eaters as a young and very troubled man. This obviously **takes place a long time before the events of Chapter One**. Evan Rosier has already been a Death Eater for some time before the events of this chapter, etc...

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**Initiation**

Severus Snape looked around him at the huddled mass of wizards, dressed all in black, with masks over their faces. He felt a surge of pure excitement.

One of those masks must have his friend Evan Rosier under it…

Sev's face was set in a grim, determined expression. His body was tensed. He was very, very nervous.

But more than that.

Sev felt alive.

Lord Voldemort was in the centre of the crowd talking mutedly to a tall, dark-haired, distinguished-looking man with a pale, pointed face. He noticed that the people stood closest to Lord Voldemort weren't wearing any masks.

Suddenly, Sev was ushered forwards. His hand trembled, and he put all his strength into stopping it.

_This is it. This is really it. _

He was marched right up to the Dark Lord, and left standing there, right in front of him.

He looked up at _that _face, knowing that he must keep his own face straight at all costs. He had to keep his expression completely impassive.

"What is your name boy?" Asked the high, cold voice of Lord Voldemort. Sev was transfixed by his face. It seemed hardly human at all.

"Severus Snape." He was surprised by how firm and hard his own voice sounded.

"Severus Snape, _my lord_." Voldemort corrected, peering at him with interest, "Yes, I know of your family. An interesting background. You certainly do look the part. And I can sense that you are… earnest… and talented, yes talented indeed." The Lord Voldemort smiled a calculating smile. "You should do well, Severus. You even have a young man who has already proved himself to vouch for you. Lucius, you may bring _him_ forward now."

Sev watched as the distinguished man, whom he guessed was about 30, disappeared into the crowd, and then returned with a black-cloaked figure who took off his mask to reveal a youthful face. Evan Rosier gave Sev a quick wink, then turned to bow before Voldemort.

"My Lord…"

"You may rise, my boy. What have you to say on behalf of your friend?"

Evan looked at Sev for a moment, eyes flashing.

"Severus Snape is the best potion brewer I've ever known. His knowledge of dark magic is extensive. He is brave, tough, and loyal. His contribution to our forces is sure to be invaluable. I would trust him with my life."

"And there may come a time when that assertion will be tested, Evan. Very well, Severus Snape, you will take the mark and become one of us. Evan, Lucius, you may step down."

Evan and the distinguished man stepped back into the crowd.

Sev now had the strangest sensation that he and Lord Voldemort were the only two people in the world. As Voldemort looked down at him, he felt an amazing burst of acceptance and belonging. More than anything else in the world right then, Sev wanted to serve the Dark Lord.

Voldemort took Sev's arm in his hand, and with his other hand, raised his wand to point the tip to the inner forearm. For a moment he locked eyes with Sev and smiled.

Then Sev felt an incredible explosion of pain.

First it was just on the section of his arm where Voldemort's wand was pointed, then it was resonating throughout his whole body. He smelt burning, and realised that what was being burnt was his own flesh. There was smoke coming from the arm.

Sev felt detached form his body, as though he was watching this happen to somebody else. The expression on his face was a far-away one, and he didn't seem able to contact his vocal cords at all – else surely he'd be screaming?

After what seemed like an age, the pain stopped. Or rather, the cause of the pain stopped. But a lingering, throbbing ache remained in his arm. The place where Voldemort's wand had been touching him stung like hell, and when the smoke cleared, Sev saw what looked like a highly detailed tattoo in black, standing out against the scorched skin.

There it was. The dark mark. And it bloody hurt.

Rather fascinated, nevertheless, Sev reached down and touched the mark. Then, with a small smile, he looked up at Lord Voldemort, who was also smiling.

"My boy. I have never seen anyone react to taking the mark quite like that. I'm rather impressed."

Sev's smile widened as he stared at the great man with awe.

Voldemort put his hand on Sev's shoulder and said "Lucius? Take Severus and find him some new robes, and a mask."

The distinguished man beckoned for Sev to follow him. Sev went, lit up with a new flame. Evan grinned manically at Sev as he passed him.

When they emerged from the main crowd, the distinguished man introduced himself.

"I'm Lucius Malfoy."

Sev felt his eyes widen. Lucius _Malfoy_? He'd heard _that _name before all right.

The man laughed, seeing Sev's reaction.

"Yes, my family is quite well-known. But then, so is yours, though perhaps for different reasons. You made an impression on the Dark Lord. I can always tell. I think you could go far, Severus."

Sev blinked in astonishment. He could hardly believe that people here seemed to like him – straight away, and with little reason. He had no idea what it was about him that had impressed them. But he greatly valued the good opinion of these people, especially this distinguished man.

Sev was not used to being liked or treated with respect. He craved respect, more than anything else in the whole world.

And that was what Lucius Malfoy had.

Everyone respected Lucius Malfoy. Everyone.

It was inevitable that Sev would look up to him. And when Lucius saw the awe with which Sev was regarding him, he couldn't help but slightly warm to the younger man.

So it was that the newly recruited Severus Snape was taken under the wing of Voldemort's right-hand man, Lucius Malfoy.

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End file.
